Redskins dealt a cruel fate.(Newport News, Va. Daily Press)

Byline: Dave Fairbank

LANDOVER, Md. _ Any loyal, dues-paying member of Redskins Nation is entitled to some couch time at this point in the season. Joe Gibbs and several players may be right alongside.

Bearing down on the halfway point, the Redskins are two up and five down. Sympathy for their situation depends on whether you are a glass-is-half-full or half-empty type, and frankly, we can't help you there.

Half-full types point out that four of the five losses were by a touchdown or less, and that all five came down to the final minutes. Half-empty types wonder when the 18-point ceiling was implemented and where the efficiency and precision associated with Gibbs is hiding just before they tell the bartender to fill the stinkin' glass all the way up and to keep it coming.

"I told (the players) the other day I've never been through something like this," said Gibbs, whose first Redskins' team back in 1981 started 0-5. "I think this is every bit as tough. Tough guys will find a way to fight our way out of it. I think it's hard right after a game like this. I don't think there's much you can say."

Indeed, Sunday's 28-14 loss to the Packers seemed particularly cruel. For a half, the Packers' Brett Favre looked like the Hall of Fame quarterback that he is. In the second half, the Redskins' defense made him look like the goofy extra in "There's Something About Mary," which he also is, and essentially shut down the Packers' running game.

On the flip side, however, the Redskins were toe-tagged on offense again for 3 quarters. But suddenly, there was beleaguered quarterback Mark Brunell finding Rod Gardner for a touchdown that cut the lead to six.